NEWS & UPDATES

July 10, 2017

REACH Daycare and Young Parent Centre in Langford will close at the end of September representing a tremendous loss of community for families who rely on the centre. Due in part to lack of provincial funding, this closure will leave some young parents without the support they need to complete their education, creating a gap in valuable social services. REACH Daycare provides early learning and ...

July 10, 2017

There is a temporary closure of the Williams Lake Area Office (Area 06) due to the fire conditions in the area. All calls to the office have been re-routed to the Prince George Area Office. We will update you once we have more information.

July 07, 2017

Collective agreement negotiations resumed with your Employer on July 5th and 6th. It was an intense round of talks that saw the parties agree in good faith to soon begin a trial shift selection process, and on Thursday, a day of disappointment when the Employer finally responded to the Union's monetary proposals. On a positive note, in the next few weeks, members working in the table games dep...

July 05, 2017

Pride Season is here again in Prince George!
We want to encourage everyone to join in the fun! This year is expected to be the biggest yet!
Date: July 8, 2017
Start: 11:00 am
Where: Parade begins at the Veterans Plaza at 100 Patricia Blvd
If you would like to join the BCGEU in the parade we will be meeting at 9:30 am behind City Hall, look for the BCGEU flags.
If you need more information, pl...

July 05, 2017

Pride Season is here again in Victoria!
We want to encourage everyone to join in the fun! This year is expected to be the biggest yet!
Date: July 9, 2017
Start: 11:00 am
Where: Parade begins at Pandora and Government
If you would like to join the BCGEU in the parade we will be meeting between 8:30 am and 10:00 am at the corner of Pandora and Government, look for the BCGEU flag.
If you need mo...

July 05, 2017

Another staff member at Forensic Psychiatric Hospital (FPH) in Coquitlam, operated by the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA), has been assaulted after being asked to escort a patient exhibiting aggressive behaviour to a seclusion room. Staff members are not provided with protective gear at FPH.
"The ongoing violence at FPH is due to an imbalance created by bringing dangerous individua...

July 02, 2017

On Saturday July 1, 2017 Canada celebrated its 150th birthday. While many took part in celebrations across the country, others chose this important date to make us aware of some of the more disturbing aspects of our history.
The Indigenous peoples of this land governed themselves for thousands of years before colonization by Europeans just 300 years ago.
What happened 150 years ago?
In ...

June 29, 2017

The BCGEU congratulates John Horgan and the BC NDP as we move into a new era of leadership in our province.
“We look forward to working with the new government,” says BCGEU president Stephanie Smith. “We are optimistic that the alliance between the BC NDP and BC Greens will move us towards a British Columbia that lifts up all people, provides a transparent and accountable government, and protec...

June 29, 2017

Bargaining for Hard Rock Casino's first collective agreement resumed on June 28th. Two days of negotiating were scheduled with the Employer, and your committee left the bargaining table pleased with the progress that was made during this latest round of complicated talks.
Both sides spent a lot of time discussing the very important issue of health and safety at the casino. Your committee has wo...

June 28, 2017

We are pleased to announce the members of Local 1710, North Peace Cultural Centre ratified their tentative agreement on Tuesday, June 27, 2017.
The Committee is pleased with the positive changes and improvements that have been negotiated.
We would like to extend our sincere appreciation and thanks to the membership for their support and participation in this important process.
Please feel free ...

June 26, 2017

Nominations are now open for 4 positions for stewards at your worksite and will close July 10, 2017. Stewards are the primary representatives of members and have an important role within the Union. Some of the roles of a steward are: • Helping co-workers interpret and understand their collective agreement;• Supporting co-workers in meetings with management;• Listening to co-workers about their ...

June 26, 2017

Provincial finance ministers are getting a clear message from the federal government this week: Keep taxes on legal marijuana sales consistently low across Canada, or risk undercutting the government's goal of ending black market cannabis sales. But provincial governments may find that enticing consumers to buy legal marijuana over illicit weed will take more than just tweaking tax rates. The q...

June 26, 2017

The City of Vancouver has made changes to its liquor policy - including allowing for a store-in-store model for grocery store liquor sales - but one addictions expert says the changes make alcohol-use too permissive and put vulnerable people at risk. The city chose the store-in-store model - where grocers can create a separated liquor area with its own cashier - precisely because it was more re...

June 26, 2017

As part of a suite of changes to its liquor policy, Vancouver city council is allowing grocery stores to sell wine, beer and liquor.
The sale of booze inside grocery stores will be done through the "store-within-a-store" model that will require a separate checkout.
Read more...

June 23, 2017

Your Bargaining Committee has spent months working tirelessly on members' behalf, with the ultimate goal that a first and fair collective agreement is reached with your Employer. Unfortunately, for the second time in a row, bargaining has been cancelled by the Employer, for reasons that are in the Union's view, unrelated to the negotiation process. The parties were scheduled to meet on June 23r...

June 22, 2017

By releasing major elements of their final throne speech before presenting it in the legislature, the B.C. Liberal government has signalled a cynical about-face on major policy issues that rings hollow to B.C. voters, says the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union. "For the past 16 years, the B.C. Liberal government has ignored the needs of B.C.'s most vulnerable citizens and working fam...

June 21, 2017

This year is a special year for the BCGEU as we celebrate National Aboriginal Day.
We're so incredibly proud of the great strides that BCGEU members – both new and experienced – have taken over the past year to strengthen relationships with our allies in Aboriginal communities around the province.
In just the last twelve months, we've welcomed employees at Fraser Valley Aboriginal Child and Fam...

June 20, 2017

The BCGEU is proud to celebrate National Aboriginal Day with our members and community allies across the province.
The day's celebrations begin with breakfast at the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre Society and will be followed by the march to Trout Lake for the opening of the afternoon festival.
The BCGEU is a proud sponsor of the morning breakfast and encourages members to join us in vo...

June 19, 2017

Delegates at the 2017 BCGEU Constitutional Convention have elected our new leadership team. As expected, Stephanie Smith was acclaimed as BCGEU president. This will be her second term as president after serving one term as treasurer between 2011 and 2014. Smith is the union's first elected woman president. Paul Finch was also acclaimed for a second term as treasurer. Elected or re-elected to th...

June 15, 2017

In response to a media release the BCGEU issued yesterday – Chronic failure by PHSA to protect staff at Forensic Psychiatric Hospital (FPH) leads to another assault on health care worker – we were disappointed that Angela Draude, provincial executive director with the Forensic Psychiatric Services Commission, said she "hasn't personally heard a request for protective equipment from the BCGEU" i...

June 14, 2017

A violent incident at Forensic Psychiatric Hospital (FPH) in Coquitlam put another staff member in harm's way yesterday afternoon because of the ongoing failure of the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) to adequately resource and protect workers at the facility.
Following his release from long-time seclusion, a patient assaulted a staff member whose colleagues were unable to immediat...

June 12, 2017

Your Bargaining Committee resumed negotiations with your Employer on June 6th. Three days of talks were scheduled, with two spent in intense negotiations. We were hoping to meet again on Friday June 9th, but your Employer abruptly declined to show up. We assume this was in response to the Union's successful "Sticker" action at River Rock, which was held on the same day, but we were never given ...

June 07, 2017

The BCGEU Area 01 Cross Component Committee Invites all BCGEU members and their families to participate in the National Aboriginal Day - June 21st A number of events are being hosted in Victoria commencing June 10th. Members are encouraged to review, and in some cases register to attend. June 10th – Victoria Native Friendship Centre Library & The Greater Victoria Public Library - Mu...

June 07, 2017

PG DAILY NEWS - The B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU) held a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday to begin construction on their new office in Terrace. The new building will replace the existing office building and will serve over 2,100 members from across northwest B.C. Over 1,400 of BCGEU members in northwest B.C. live within a two-hour drive of the new office, making this o...

June 05, 2017

The BC Government & Service Employees' Union (BCGEU) commends last week's extended apology from Deputy Minister to the Premier and head of the B.C. Public Service Kim Henderson to those affected by the terminations of Ministry of Health employees in 2012. In the April 2017 report Misfire: The 2012 Ministry of Health Employment Terminations and Related Matters, the B.C. Ombudsperson document...